Strength
by Gabriela-chan
Summary: Crossover with Cyberteam in Akihabara. Cigogne tells Tsubame a story to teach her about strength--a story about a little boy named Soujirou. But he leaves a lot out...


Strength  
By Gabriela  
  
     Tsubame and her father walked hand in hand through a field of waving grass. The little girl's expression was solemn, but inwardly she was smiling. These walks had become rare lately, and she was glad to spend a little time with her father.  
     When they reached the top of a hill, Cigogne stopped abruptly and sat down on the grass, motioning for Tsubame to do the same. She settled herself beside him, carefully arranging her skirts under her. For a few moments, the two quietly watched the sun set. Then Tsubame's father turned to her, breaking the silence.  
     "Tsubame, I'm going to tell you a story with an important lesson," he said. "So listen carefully."  
     Tsubame nodded silently, tilting her head in interest at this new way of teaching.  
     "More that a century ago," Cigogne began, "there lived in Japan a young orphan boy named Soujirou. He lived with his half- brothers, and since he was very small and weak, they were able to bully him, beat him, and make him work all day and all night.  
     "But one night, Soujirou's life changed forever. A great swordsman named Shishio came to the family's house, and saw that Soujirou had the potential to become a warrior too. He taught Soujirou the same thing that I have been teaching you: the strong shall survive…"  
     "And the weak shall be trampled." finished Tsubame dutifully.  
     "Good. So Shishio taught Soujirou how to fight, and how to be strong. Soujirou became one of the greatest swordsmen of his time, and no one ever dared to bully him again. And also, after Shishio began teaching him, Soujirou was never sad or lonely…he was always cheerful and smiling, and life was a game for him. What lesson does that teach, Tsubame?"  
     "That to be happy, all you need to do is be strong," said the girl.  
     Cigogne favored her with a pleased smile.  
     "Good, Tsubame. You are learning quickly."  
     "Papa, what happened to Soujirou afterwards? Did he have fights and adventures?"  
     "Yes." Cigogne said shortly, standing up.  
     "What kind of fights and adventures? Tell me more, Papa."  
     "It's getting dark," said Cigogne, ignoring her request. "We should start back."  
     "Papa…"  
     "I have told you as much of Soujirou's story as you need to know in order to learn the lessons I am teaching you."  
     Tsubame sat alone under the darkening sky for a moment longer, before getting to her feet and following her father back to their mansion.  
  
~ Eight Years Later~  
  
     Tsubame flipped through the history book, looking for a reference to Sagara Souzou. Each person in her class was supposed to choose a historical figure from the Meiji Era and give a report on him or her, and she had had the good fortune of finding a rare book containing historical accounts actually written during the Meiji Era.  
     As she turned the pages, a name suddenly caught her eye, and she froze, stopping at that page.  
     _"Soujirou"…?_  
     She mentally scolded herself for the absurdity of her reaction-- it couldn't possibly be the Soujirou she knew of. Still, she couldn't resist satisfying her curiosity, so she looked over the page more thoroughly. With growing amazement, she found herself reading the same story her father (stepfather, she reminded herself) had told her as a child.  
     When she put down the book a few minutes later, her expression was thoughtful, and her mind far away. So _that_ was why her father had refused to tell her more…_that's_ what he meant when he said that what he had told her was "as much of Soujirou's story as you need to know." Because if you knew the whole story, it taught a completely different lesson.  
     Shishio had indeed been a great swordsman, as her father had said. But what he _hadn't_ told her was that Shishio was also a madman bent on toppling the Meiji government and taking his revenge on those who had tried to assassinate him, threatening the lives of thousands of innocent people in the process. Tsubame thought of all the other things her father had said to her, finally seeing the truth of the story instead of the distorted half-truths she had been told:  
     _"…Shishio taught Soujirou how to fight, and how to be strong."_  
     No…not how to fight, but how to kill. And not how to be strong but how to hide inner weakness, even from himself. In the end, Soujirou had learned the difference.  
     _"…he was always cheerful and smiling, and life was a game for him."_  
     So it had seemed to everyone. Even Soujirou himself believed that his emotionlessness was real happiness. But the perpetual smile actually concealed hurt and bitterness, stored up for years…the frightened, angry child he thought he had left behind was only hiding behind a mask of cheerfulness, as he had learned to do to avoid being beaten.  
     But in the end, Soujirou had found escape and redemption…he had turned away from the philosophy of "the strong live, the weak die" just as Tsubame herself had. A supposed enemy's determination and unexpected compassion had shown the young swordsman that there were more important things than physical strength, and that he couldn't run away from his emotions forever.  
     Hibari, Tsubame's own enemy-turned-savior, had shown Tsubame the happiness that came from friendship, and from a family's love. The things Hibari and her family had shown her were so simple…cheerful photographs of special moments together; a dinner prepared with lots of enthusiasm and very little talent, but appreciated nonetheless for the love and effort that went into it. Tsubame had never before imagined that such things even existed.  
     Tsubame shook her head in wonder, amazed at the parallels between her life and that of her childhood role model. It seemed, to her, the final confirmation that she had chosen the right path; and the only way she could think of to properly acknowledge it was to share the story with Hibari…and with the world. She picked up her pen, turned to a fresh page of her notebook, and wrote a new title for her report:  
     "Seta Soujirou." 


End file.
